ICELANDIC ART TODAY

ICELANDIC ART TODAY

Art in Iceland is as young as it is exciting. Considering the fact that Icelandic culture is strongly oriented toward language, the visual arts did not begin developing until the early twentieth century. This situation, which is remarkable for a Western country, may explain the unique nature of the contemporary art scene in Iceland. Even though international Conceptual Art continues to exercise a considerable influence and globalization is affecting this island in the North Atlantic, Icelandic art is nevertheless marked by a very specific creative energy and the pleasure of experimentation, and it has produced a large number of outstanding artists.

Icelandic Art Today introduces fifty important protagonists of contemporary art , among them Finnbogi Pétursson, Gabríela Fridriksdóttir, Helgi Thorgils Frídjónsson, Icelandic Love Corporation, Katrín Sigurdardóttir, Margrét H. Blöndal, Ólafur Ólafsson + Libia Castro, Ragnar Kjartansson, Rúrí, Steingrímur Eyfjörd.

Edited by Christian Schoen, CIA.IS - Center for Icelandic Art, Halldór Björn Runólfsson, The National Gallery of Iceland, texts by Eva Heisler, Halldór Björn Runólfsson, Christian Schoen, Gregory Volk u.a.

“Icelandic Art Today is the first book of its kind in English, covering a broad group of Icelandic contemporary artists.” Icelandreview